


I Dreamed A Dream Tonight

by Goody



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: A Happy Ending, A little whump, Andy and Booker are in the background being badass too, Immortal Husbands, Joe and Nicky are so in love it hurts, M/M, Mission Fic, Nicky Whump, Pre-Movie, Torture, a little fluff, protective Joe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:47:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25437946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goody/pseuds/Goody
Summary: It was a simple mission until it went sideways, quite literally, and Joe was forced to watch Nicky fall from his grasp.
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Comments: 40
Kudos: 890





	1. Extraction Plans

**Author's Note:**

> I love these immortal husbands and everything about this universe. A little pre-movie adventure for a little whump and a lot of Joe and Nicky loving each other. Enjoy!

It was the night before the mission. Joe was pouring over the plans for the raid, studying the layout of the building. Nicky had already cleaned his gun and moved to sharpening his sword. As he finished he help up the blade, inspecting the metal for imperfections. 

Joe watched and smiled.

“Mine’s bigger,” he said, the hint of teasing and affection in his voice that was always there for Nicky.

Nicky smirked and put the sword down.

“Prove it,” he said in challenge. 

Neither of them were talking about their blades. Joe stood and approached Nicky, pushing him back against the couch cushions with a searing kiss that Nicky smiled into. 

“We didn’t figure out who won,” Nicky pointed out later as they laid in each other’s arms, sweat soaked and satisfied.

“We are both winners in this game Nicky,” Joe said, nuzzling into Nicky’s hair and pressing a kiss against his temple. 

“Undisputed champions, one-thousand years and counting,” Nicky muttered. 

Joe smiled in agreement but then his eyes shifted back to the table covered with the plans for their mission. Nicky frowned and rubbed a hand down Joe’s arm.

“You’re worried about the plan,” he said.

“I don’t like the extraction,” Joe admitted. “We don’t know the pilot well. I don’t want to rely on him.”

“We can’t do everything ourselves Joe, we have to trust people sometimes.”

“I trust you,” Joe said.

Nicky smiled apologetically. “I can’t fly a helicopter.”

“You’ve never even tried.”

“That’s kind of the problem.”

“I’d fly with you.”

“Then it’s a good thing you’re immortal,” Nicky said, his tone amused until he met Joe’s eye. “If you think it’s a bad plan we’ll call it off. I’ll back you up.”

Joe smiled, still surprised by Nicky’s faith in him after all these centuries. They had both stopped worshipping their gods a long time ago, they worshipped only each other now.

“No, you’re right. We need to trust people or there’s no reason to do any of this,” Joe said.

Nicky smiled smugly. “So you do listen to me.”

“Every word,” Joe assured him. “Always.”

“Then listen to these ones,” Nicky said, cupping Joe’s cheek in his hand. “It’s time to sleep.”

Joe squeezed Nicky tighter then laid his head down on the pillow. “Always so wise.”

“You’re lucky to have me,” Nicky muttered, eyes already fluttering closed in sleep.

“I am,” Joe agreed. 

They slept until dawn.

Then it was time for the mission.

~|~|~|~|~|~|~|

As far as missions went this one was straight forward. 

The political opponent of the prime minister had disappeared suddenly a few weeks before he was predicted to win leadership of the country from the violent despot in charge. 

Officially the man was a missing person, disappeared without a trace.

Unofficially he was being held by the prime minister’s personal guard in a warehouse near the docks. 

It was a miracle he wasn’t dead. They may have been planning to release him after the election was officially called, or more likely they were just waiting until that time to kill him. Either way, the neighboring government was eager for a more democratic, and less war-minded, leader at their border so had paid the immortals to rescue the man. Andy and the boys didn’t really get involved in politics much, but this was straight forward enough for them to accept easily. Getting in hadn’t been hard. Citizens may not have had the training or ability to stand up to the guards protecting the man, but the immortals had cut through them like butter. They had found their target, Mr. Pao, in the basement, alive but half dead with hunger it seemed. His eyes would slit open every now and then and he could get his feet underneath himself from time to time as they moved out of the building but other than that he was a deadweight. Which was for the best really, they all preferred not to be remembered by those they saved. It only led to problems. 

Speaking of problems, they were currently squeezed into a black mustang, Booker driving with Andy in the passenger seat, Joe in the back trying to feed water down the throat of their target to keep him alive, and Nicky leaned out the window firing at their pursuers. 

They found out the prime minister’s men weren’t the best trained, but there were a lot of them, with a lot of weapons, which could be just as bad. 

Nicky fired again, finally blew out the engine block of the car chasing them and pulled himself back into the car.

“Three shots? You all right?” Joe asked, half teasing and half serious.

“Booker can’t drive,” Nicky said, blaming him for the missed shots.

“This city can’t pave their streets. You’ll miss a lot more if I hit these potholes,” Booker said, letting the car hit one for emphasis, creating an impact that ran into their bones.

Andy shook her head and saw another car coming up behind them.

“And you all can’t stop bickering,” she said before leaning out and taking aim at their tires. Before Nicky could help Booker took a sharp turn, causing the truck in front of them to veer out of the way … and straight into the car that was after them forcing it to collide with a fire hydrant. 

“Nice,” Joe said. 

Then they hit another pothole. Hard. 

Booker cringed.

“Just focus on driving,” Andy said. They were only a few blocks away from their extraction but they could hear the commotion rising in the city and see the way traffic had changed on every side street they passed. There were still plenty of men after them, and they were getting closer. 

A few minutes later they pulled up in front of the three storey warehouse that was secretly housing a helicopter on the roof. The only problem was getting their target up there safely. He was a complete deadweight and their pursuers weren’t far behind. 

“Nicky,” Andy said, motioning him ahead of the rest of them. He understood immediately, patted Joe on the shoulder then took off with his sniper rifle and headed for the roof of the building. Joe only watched him for a moment, just the tiniest bit relieved to see him running ahead of them, away from the danger. It was why he loved Nicky being a sniper, it often took him as far from the action as possible. 

Joe moved his attention back to their target and hauled the limp man out of the car. Booker was waiting by the door and they each slung one of the man’s arms over their shoulders to move him as quickly as possible. Andy took up the rear, watching their backs as they shuffled towards the door Nicky had already disappeared through. A shadow shifted on the roof above them followed by a sharp ping. Somewhere down the road they heard a car crashing that indicated Nicky had landed the shot he had just sent out. 

“He doesn’t miss when you’re not driving,” Joe pointed out. 

“Think you can do better?” Booker asked.

Joe scoffed, “You should have seen the potholes in the middle ages.”

“Those were just holes,” Booker said.

“Chariots were a lot harder to steer than that mustang,” Andy interjected, surprising them both. She rarely bantered mid-mission, but they were almost out, with their target alive and no immediate threat behind them. They dropped their guard just a fraction.

They burst out onto the roof and saw the helicopter waiting for them, blades already spinning, undoubtedly told by Nicky to start up his engine. Joe’s eyes immediately found his lover, perched on the corner of the roof, eye on his scope to survey the street below for danger. 

Nicky looked up briefly and smiled, tilting his head towards the helicopter. “He showed up.”

Joe smiled back and hefted up their unconscious target higher. “I never doubted.”

Nicky rolled his eyes and went back to watching the street while the others pulled open the door of the plane and got their target inside. Nicky waited until Andy motioned him over to leave his spot and jog over to the plane. As he stepped inside the legs were already lifting into the air. Andy moved to sit in the seat behind the pilot, Joe and Booker strapped several buckles around the unconscious man in the back to keep him steady and Nicky stood in the open doorway of the plane, one hand on the railing above the door and the other on his gun, ready to take out anyone who appeared on the roof and may fire on them. 

It wasn’t the roof they should have been worried about. 

“Holy shit,” the pilot exclaimed suddenly and they all turned to see that the sky was lit up in a thin line of fire that was headed straight towards them. 

It was a ground to air missile, fired from the road forty feet below. 

The pilot pulled hard to the left, so desperate to swerve them out of the missile’s path that the helicopter almost went sideways. The missile passed within inches of the right side of the plane, flying just between the blades and the body. The shift in momentum was extreme, the change in gravity instant. Andy held the chair beneath her in a death grip, Booker and Joe desperately held on to the straps they were still securing around their target. Standing in the doorway, Nicky’s feet flew out from under him as they tilted, his single handed grip on the handle above him wasn’t enough to hold the sudden snap of his weight, and just like that he was falling. 

Joe saw it happen too late. Didn’t turn his head until Nicky’s grip was lost, until his flailing arms and legs were reaching for a hold they couldn’t hope to reach and then fell from sight. 

“No!” Joe cried out and tried to lunge forward, to grab hold of him or go with him, he didn’t care which. They would never be separated. They had promised. Not after what had happened to Quynh. But the helicopter shifted again, desperately trying to right itself and Joe was thrown back against the closed door on the other side of the plane. 

“Nicky!” he muttered, scrambling forward with the breath knocked out of him. The helicopter was level again and flying smoothly.

“Joe stop!” Booker said and suddenly a hand was on each of his arms holding him back just as he leaned over the edge and saw they were over the water.

“The current will pull you into the sea,” Booker said of the raging tides below them. “You won’t get to him.” 

Joe looked out and could see him, his Nicolo - he had landed just on the edge of the roof where he lay writhing in pain. Ten men stood around him, weapons drawn on the downed soldier even as they watched the helicopter fly off.

“Go back!” Andy yelled at the pilot before Joe could do it. 

Another missile passed in front of them. The helicopter swerved again, jostling them all before heading back out over the water.

“I go back we all die!” the pilot yelled and they knew he was right. If their pursuers had two missiles they had more and the immortals may survive if they turned around but the pilot and their target wouldn’t. Even if they didn’t care about the humans, blowing themselves up above the ocean wasn’t going to help Nicky either.

“Fuck,” Andy swore before looking at Joe apologetically. 

Joe tried to lunge forward again on instinct but Booker held on to him tight, knowing he would fight tooth and claw to get to Nicky. Joe could still see out the open door. Nicky had rolled over to face the water, having no hope against ten armed men with whatever injuries he would have sustained in the fall. 

He lifted his head as they flew away and the bastard, he waved good-bye.

TBC


	2. Together Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They haven't been separated for centuries, but even though Nicky is the one being tortured things may be even worse for Joe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Torture, electrocution, waterboarding. Not terribly graphic but not ... ungraphic either I guess. 
> 
> Thanks for the kind comments and kudos! Let's get these lovers back together.

The men on the roof wasted no time knocking Nicky unconscious. He woke up handcuffed to a chair in what could only be a basement judging by the lack of windows and cursed that he hadn’t been able to track their route here from the roof. He had no idea where he was, though it couldn’t be far, his body would have healed before they got out of the city. Across the room were two guards, armed and watching him alertly. He looked down and saw his ankles were cuffed to the chair legs as well and sighed. They were not underestimating him. A shame. There would be little chance to escape.

It didn’t really matter. The others would come for him eventually. 

Joe would come for him. 

He just had to hold out until then.

The door across the room opened and while he hoped for Joe and the others, he wasn’t surprised when a man in a crisp suit walked in somehow managing to look both annoyed and smug.

“Hello. I hear you have something of mine,” the man said in greeting.

Nicky lifted his chained hands and motioned to the empty room. “Doesn’t seem likely.”

“Funny,” the man said, not laughing. “You can call me Serge. And what may I call you?”

“A free man?” Nicky requested.

“No, not yet I’m afraid,” Serge said. “But it’s a distinct possibility. Tell me where your colleagues took Mr. Pao and we can discuss it.”

“I’m afraid that won’t be happening.”

Serge tsked. “Come now, you’re clearly not from around here. I doubt you actually care how our local politics play themselves out. You were hired for a job, are you really willing to die for it?”

“I wouldn’t take it if I wasn’t.”

Serge motioned to one of the guards who nodded and disappeared into the hallway. 

“Well, don’t say I didn’t try to do this the nice way.” 

The guard returned with a cart carrying a large battery that had several wires with electrodes on the ends. Nicky grit his teeth. He hadn’t gone through this in awhile.

While the guard tore Nicky’s shirt open and began to place the electrodes on his chest, Serge leaned against the back wall, looking at his nails as he waited. When the last electrode was in place he stepped forward and let his fingers hover over the switch.

“This is your last chance.”

Nicky stared straight ahead.

Serge shook his head. “I have seen men die from a single burst. The shock can stop your heart instantly. You’re willing to take that risk? You’re willing to die for your colleagues?”

Nicky smiled. “A million times, in a million ways.”

“Very well.” 

Serge flicked the switch. 

Nicky screamed.

~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~

In another city, across the bay that separated the two countries, the helicopter landed on the roof of a three storey-building. 

Devro, the man who had hired them, was waiting on the tarmac and smiled widely as the door of the helicopter slid open revealing the team and their target, alive, though slumped unconscious.

Two medics rushed forward and loaded Pao onto a stretcher while Devro looked at the team with open arms.

“You are as incredible as promised, thank you.”

“We lost a man,” Andy said as she stepped out, wasting no time.

Devro’s face dropped in sympathy. “I’m sorry.”

“He’s still alive,” Joe said, interrupting before Devro could wax apologetic. “He was captured. Where would they take him?”

Devro considered it a moment. “It could be any of a dozen places. We only narrowed down Mr. Pao’s location last night.”

“Give us a list, we’ll check them all,” Joe said, stepping towards Devro but Andy put a hand on his arm.

“Every government agent in that city is looking for us. We start tearing through their safe houses we’ll just warn them we’re coming, or get ourselves caught,” Andy said.

“Then they’ll take us to Nicky, it’s a win-win,” Joe said, not backing down.

“We need more intel,” Booker said, coming up on Joe’s other side to back Andy up.

“We don’t know what might be happening to him,” Joe said through gritted teeth.

“We’ll find out, but we have to do this right,” Andy said. “They’re gonna want information from him, we have time.”

“So we just leave him to be tortured while we come up with a plan?” 

“Getting him back is what’s important. You know that,” Andy said, the rest of her point was unspoken but they all knew what she was saying; they could recover from torture, they all had, but losing each other, that was the worst hell any of them had gone through. Joe grit his teeth but nodded in agreement.

Andy sighed in relief and looked at Booker. “Work with Devro. Find him.”

Booker holstered his gun, tapped Joe on the shoulder in silent support then went with Devro to go over the intel. 

Andy took Joe’s arm and led him inside.

“Let’s get some food. We need to be rested and ready to go when they find him.”

“I’m going to kill them,” Joe said quietly, certainly. “If they’ve hurt him, I’m going to kill every last one.”

Andy nodded. “And I’m gonna help you.”

~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~

Nicky passed out after the fifth time they increased the battery voltage. He woke up still chained to the chair but aware enough to keep his eyes closed and head low, feigning unconsciousness. It worked for awhile. No one bothered him, unaware he had healed from his injuries faster than a regular man could ever hope to. 

The electrocution had been terrible, painful, and lasted much longer than he would have liked, but in a sick way he was thankful for it. It was an almost markless form of torture. It meant they wouldn’t notice how fast he healed. Wouldn’t figure out he didn’t die. At least not yet.

He had no doubt Joe was coming but he certainly wouldn’t mind if he moved a little faster.

After an hour of pretending to sleep Nicky heard the door to his room open. A set of footsteps crossed calmly in front of him and then he was slapped across the cheek.

“Ow,” he said, lifting his head slowly and slitting an eye open.

“Good, you can still speak, we can continue,” Serge said.

Nicky let his head fall back slowly and hissed at the movement, pretending he was still in pain from his previous torture session. He had experienced enough agony through the centuries that it wasn’t a hard act to put on. 

“What about brain damage?” he asked, speaking slowly. He didn’t really have to act that part, he was thirsty as hell.

“If you can think to ask about it you probably don’t have it,” Serge said. Nicky shrugged. Fair enough.

Serge tapped his fingers on the battery case and looked down at Nicky. “Would you like to tell me where your colleagues took Mr. Pao yet?”

“Not in the slightest. Would you like to go to hell?”

Serge smiled. “How much more of this do you think you can handle?”

“I guess we’ll see.”

“We will.”

Serge flipped the switch and electricity flooded Nicky’s body, contracting every muscle and burning him from the inside out. He grit his teeth and thought of Joe. He would be here soon. 

When the switch finally flipped off he slumped forward, panting, no longer acting like he was in pain.

“That it?” he asked through dry lips.

Turning away from Nicky, Serge looked down at the battery and shook his head in disappointment.

“I must admit, you seem rather immune to the charms of our device. And you look thirsty,” Serge said, then motioned to the guards. “Bring him to the next room.”

It was disappointing how quickly they freed his arms and then re-chained him. His muscles were still barely responding from the hit of electricity and he had no chance to fight back in what may have been his only chance at escape. His hands locked behind him, they dragged him across the hall to another room, darker, with a table in the center and buckets against the wall.

Fuck. Fuck. Not this. Nicky started to struggle involuntarily, a deep, visceral reaction that he couldn’t hide. The grip of the men holding him only got stronger. Serge smiled.

“Yes, I think this will be a much better fit for you,” he said as he watched his men tie Nicky down to the table. Nicky continued to struggle even after they finished, pulling at the restraints, uncaring of his bone or muscle, just desperate to be free. A fear crept up his throat as the cuffs held and the feeling of helplessness enveloped him, a feeling that was so familiar even though it wasn’t his own. He only knew it from his dreams.

Serge stood at the end of the table and looked down on him, smiling.

“Do you want to tell me where your friends are now or are you too eager for this experience?”

There were plenty of answers Nicky wanted to give, but he decided to save his breath, literally.

Serge seemed to understand and nodded at his men again. Suddenly a cloth covered Nicky’s eyes and mouth, blinding him and making him suck in a breath. He closed his eyes and saw a coffin at the bottom of the ocean. 

Then he heard the water. 

~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~

It was only centuries of training that allowed Joe to get any sleep. His concern for Nicky was rooted deep in his soul and images of his lover burned every other thought out of his head, but Andy had always had a rule – rest when you can, because you never know when the next fight may be. Even though they were immortal, they were still human. They tired, and that more often than not got them killed.

Booker and Devro were still working on finding Nicky’s location. Tracking wasn’t Joe’s specialty, it never had been. His job was going to be to kill every man standing between him and Nicky, and to do that he needed rest so had agreed to lie down in the backroom of their safehouse with Andy. They were in cots across the room from each other. It had taken longer than it usually did for him to sleep, his arms feeling painfully empty without Nicky to wrap around, but eventually he drifted off lightly, though not for long.

Soon he was twitching, mumbling, sweat broke out on his forehead then he bolted upright, gasping as he shot into consciousness. 

Nicky.

“No,” he whispered, taking in huge gulps of air and hating himself for it because he knew Nicky couldn’t. 

Across the room Andy bolted awake as well, pulling a gun from under her pillow and looking around for danger. She had been woken by Joe, not her dreams.

“Joe, what is it?” she asked, standing up to scout the doorway.

Joe brought up his knees and covered his face with his hands. “Nicky. Oh god … I saw him. In my dreams I … “

“What is it?”

Joe swallowed. “They’re drowning him.”

Andy stopped in her tracks, her breath leaving her as quickly as it had him.

“How?”

“Waterboarding,” Joe answered quickly, able to offer the small relief to Andy that Nicky hadn’t been thrown into the ocean. He was still on land. He could still be saved. Not like Quhyn. “He’s in a room. No windows. Dark. They’re drowning him, over and over. I saw it. I felt it. We need to go. Andy we need to go now!”

Andy wasn’t going to argue with him.

“Booker!” she yelled, moving swiftly into the room where he was working with the local intelligence agents. “You better have something.”

Booker looked up and his brow furrowed when he saw Andy’s determined stance and Joe’s frantic expression, but decided to ask later.

“We’ve got it down to three locations but I don’t know how to get it tighter,” he said. “We might have to hit all three.”

Joe came over to the table and leaned down to whisper in Booker’s ear, speaking in French in case any of the analysts in the room still heard him.

“He’s in a basement, a big one, multiple rooms, there’s at least one hallway, like an office building, not a house. Dark. Old.”

Booker’s eyes went wide. “You saw him?”

Joe nodded, his gaze haunted, moving over the room, desperate to find something that would make him stop seeing Nicky drowning over and over in his mind. Alone.

“Tell me that helps.”

Booker clenched his jaw, looked over his intel then nodded, getting excited.

“Okay yeah, the slaughterhouse only has parking underground, no basement, so he’s not there. We thought he could be at this black site but it’s a house, only three years old.”

“What’s the last one?” Andy asked.

“The old consulate. It took earthquake damage a few years ago. They shut it down but never demolished it.”

“He’s there,” Joe said confidently.

“Grab your things,” Andy ordered, but Booker was already slinging his rifle on his back and Joe was halfway out the door.

“I’m coming Nicky,” he muttered. He pitied anyone who tried to stand in his way.

~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~

Nicky came back to life with a gasp and a spurt, turning his head to spit out the water coming up from his lungs and coughing as cold air took its place.

“Welcome back,” Serge’s voice said from above him, patting Nicky’s cheek condescendingly. “You gave us a scare. Your heart stopped for a few moments. We barely managed to resuscitate you.”

Nicky scoffed. He could tell the difference between passing out and dying. The idiots had accidentally drowned him to death. It had been painful and terrible, but at least there had been one good side effect. Joe.

Above him Serge’s brow furrowed in anger as Nicky caught his breath and leaned back with a look of contentment. 

“I’m curious what you think you have to smile about?” 

Nicky’s lips quirked up even higher into an almost dopey grin. “I had a wonderful dream.”

“Touching, but it may very well be your last. Tell me where Pao has been taken or we start again, and we may not revive you this time if you die.”

Nicky laughed in his face. If only he knew. 

“Very well.”

The cloth was pushed back on Nicky’s face. The sound of water returned. Nicky stopped laughing.

~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~

It took two hours to get back into the city. Booker was behind the wheel again, Andy in the front seat and Joe sat in the back, painfully aware of the empty space next to him. He sat tense and vibrating with fury and snapped at everyone that tried to talk to him about anything that wasn’t getting Nicky back. He was being unkind, he knew that, but what else could he be when he was missing his heart?

They finally reached the consulate and parked a block away. Booker scoped out the back while Joe and Andy watched the front for any movement. There was none they could see. The immortals checked their weapons, cut through the fence around the building and breached through the front door. 

There was no resistance at first so they started to head down. Joe’s dream had shown Nicky in a basement which at least meant they didn’t have to sweep the upper levels. 

They hopscotched down the hall at each other’s back until finally Andy opened a door and met resistance. Two men with rifles. Good, they were starting to worry they were in the wrong place. Andy killed them with four quick shots and kept moving. More would come now, they had to stay alert. Booker stayed a step behind them to watch the rear while Andy turned to clear a hallway and Joe moved on without her, singular in his focus and uncaring that she always led. He wouldn’t care about anything until Nicky was found.

Several men rushed out from behind a door. Joe snarled and attacked with a fierceness Andy hardly ever saw in him but was unsurprised by. The men were all dead by the time she and Booker reached the end of the hall.

Another soldier appeared and Joe moved to kill him but Andy stepped in, pushing Joe’s gun down and shooting the man in the knee instead. He fell to the ground screaming and Andy knelt in front of him, gun pointed at his chest.

“Tell us where our friend is and you won’t end up like them,” she said, motioning towards the dead bodies littering the hallway.

The man grit his teeth, considered being defiant for a moment before caving as Joe added his own gun to the soldier’s temple.

“Down the hall. Take a left after the elevators,” he said. Neither of the guns moved. “I swear. The room with the black door. He’s fine. We didn’t kill him.”

“Not for lack of trying,” Joe muttered, clearly remembering his dream and how Nicky had suffered. Joe pulled back his gun and struck the man so hard across the jaw Andy doubted he would have any teeth left. 

Joe kicked the man aside and they moved down the hallway as one.

Down the hall, behind a black door, Nicky gasped and coughed, pulling in air desperately as the cloth was removed from his face. As his breathing became easier he looked up, expecting Serge to be towering over him, but the man was turned around, facing the door.

“What was that?” Serge asked his men. 

Three muffled pings followed his question, echoing from down the hall. Nicky instantly recognized them as the sounds of an M-416 rifle with a silencer. That would be Andy.

Two more pings. Lower in frequency. An M-14. Joe.

Nicky started to laugh.

Serge turned around and glared at him in confusion but Nicky just smiled.

“I’m ready to tell you where my friends are,” Nicky said, practically glowing with triumph. Another ping came from the hall, much closer now, and Serge swung around, aiming his gun at the door. Nicky’s smile widened. “But I think you’ve already figured it out.”

As though on cue the door burst open. Serge and his men started firing but there were no bodies to hit. A small canister rolled across the floor, filling the room with smoke.

“Fuck!” Serge yelled, attempting to wave the thick fog away but it was no good. They were practically blind as three shapes entered the room, firing indiscriminately, tearing down everyone that stood in their way. Serge took a bullet to the chest and three to the leg. Nicky watched the man collapse next to his guards, then his gaze lifted up and he saw the most beautiful sight in the world.

“My angel,” he muttered as Joe came towards him. 

“My heart,” Joe replied, exhaling in relief as he reached Nicky’s side. He lowered his weapon and cupped Nicky’s cheek, then leaned down to touch their foreheads together, reveling in the relief of feeling Nicky alive. The moment didn’t last long though as Joe reached over to tear open the restraints holding Nicky down. As soon as his arms were free they were wrapped around Joe’s neck, pulling him close, inhaling his scent and crushing his lips.

“I knew you would come,” Nicky said when they broke for air, but the words of assurance only made Joe’s eyes sad.

“I’m sorry …” he started to say, but Nicky cut him off, in no mood for apologies in the middle of his rescue. 

“There’s nothing to apologize for. But you can do me a favor,” Nicky said.

“Anything,” Joe said.

Nicky smiled. “Lend me a gun.”

Joe laughed and reached behind him, pulling out a SCAR, Nicky’s favorite. He took the gun, checked the clip and pecked Joe on the lips.

“Thank you my love.”

They broke apart and finally moved to the door where Andy and Booker were waiting.

“No kiss for us?” Andy asked with a slight grin. Nicky pulled her into a quick hug and kissed her cheek. She nodded but then moved back into position to cover their exit.

“Buy me dinner first,” Booker said, never breaking his position even as Nicky opened his arms as though to offer him a kiss as well.

“Very well. How many are there?” Nicky asked as they started moving, Booker and Andy in the lead and Joe and Nicky side by side.

“No idea. No time for recon,” Booker said.

“We keep shooting until we’re out,” Andy said by way of a plan.

It turned out to be an excellent plan. They met little resistance as they exited the building, killing only a handful of guards before they were out the door and sprinting into the night air. They found the car where they had left it and piled in.

Booker drove, Andy sat in the passenger side. Joe and Nicky sat in the back, immediately removing all space between them. 

“Knew we should have gotten the partition,” Booker sighed as he kept seeing glimpses of the two lovers in his rearview mirror. 

Next to him Andy smiled though, too relieved to have their team back together to care about the public displays of affection from the back seat.

In the back of the car Joe broke off their kiss to pull Nicky into his arms, holding him as close to his heart as possible. Nicky pushed into the embrace, fingers clawing up Joe’s back to ground him in the moment, to reassure himself that Joe was really there. 

“Knew you’d come,” Nicky said again but quieter this time, as if it was just to assure himself that Joe had rescued him, that he was free.

“Always my love. Always,” Joe said, placing a hand on the back of Nicky’s head. It was all the touch Nicky needed to collapse in relief and exhaustion. The adrenaline of escape was wearing off and he was left with a bone deep weariness after hours of torture and dying several times.

“Rest Nicolo, you’re safe,” Joe whispered in his ear. He kissed his hair then helped Nicky shift down so his head rested in Joe’s lap. Joe ran a hand through Nicky’s hair as he fell into sleep, then leaned back and sighed, able to breathe for the first time in half a day. 

Then they hit a pothole. Hard.

“Great, Booker still can’t drive,” Nicky mumbled, his eyes still closed. 

“Would you rather take the helicopter?” Booker asked.

They all flashed back to the plane tilting sideways and Nicky falling from their view. 

Nicky licked his lips as Joe’s fingers dug in harder for just a moment. 

“No. I take it back. This is perfect.”

They drove the rest of the way back in silence, content to be back together.

~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~

A few hours later they reached their safe house. Joe and Nicky immediately disappeared into their room so Joe could peel Nicky’s clothes off and tuck him into bed to get some proper rest. Nicky insisted Joe join him. He could never deny Nicky anything so stripped off his own clothes and laid down with him, wrapping his arms around his lover and holding him close.

“You wouldn’t let me say it before, but I’m sorry. I let you down. It won’t happen again, I swear,” Joe said into the darkness. He could feel when Nicky shook his head in disagreement.

“Do not apologize. I was the one who said we should trust the pilot. I was the one who fell. I should apologize to you. I know how much you worry,” Nicky said, trying to lighten Joe’s heart. But now it was Joe’s turn to shake his head.

“We don’t separate. Those are the rules,” he said firmly, gripping Nicky tighter. “I should have jumped after you.”

“It wouldn’t have done any good and you know it. Besides, it wasn’t so bad, all things considered,” Nicky said, his voice trailing off as though getting lost in a fond memory.

“They tortured you. They killed you,” Joe said, hating each word and that he knew they were true. “I dreamed of you. I saw what was happening, I felt it, and I couldn’t do anything. You were alone. How could any of that be good?”

“Because I also dreamed of you. For the first time in centuries. I missed having you there. I missed that connection. Knowing for certain that you’ll always be with me, even if it’s just in my mind … it was worth it. Worth dying for.”

Joe huffed a laugh against Nicky’s hair. “And you say I’m the incurable romantic?”

“I do,” Nicky said, turning for a kiss. “But you don’t have to be the only one.”

The end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed!


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